Montclair-based New Jersey Certified Roofing offers an unusual service: for every paying job it completes, owner and president Chuck Anania uses a portion of the profits to fund the Roof4Roof project.

Roof4Roof’s mission is to help families in need by fixing roofs. Currently, portions of the profits from commercial roofing jobs in New Jersey fund residential roofing projects in Colombia, while commercial jobs in Connecticut pay for projects in Guatemala. Under a plan launched in May, paid residential jobs help fund free residential projects in the residents’ home states.

HOW IT STARTED

During a 2010 trip to visit his wife’s relatives in Colombia, Anania was struck by the abject poverty he saw in parts of that country.

“The level of poverty for people living over there can be so extreme,” Anania said. “It really moved me. I wanted to do something.”

Not long after, he realized he might have some success if he started a program similar to the one made famous by another charitable organization. “I saw a news program or documentary on TOMS Shoes,” he said. The TOMS “one for one” concept intrigued him, Anania said. “I thought, ‘I could probably do that.’ I started crunching the numbers.”

He began Roof4Roof that year.

FINDING A NEED

In Colombia and Guatemala, Anania has learned, it isn’t difficult to find people in need. Homes in disrepair can usually be found clustered in specific neighborhoods.

“We ask locals to tell us about the poorest parts of the cities,” Anania said. “We ask everyone.” They also make phone calls well in advance of traveling out of the country, he noted. “Then, when we get to those districts, we just start knocking on doors.”

In New Jersey, finding folks to help is a little more complicated. Not because the need doesn’t exist — Roof4Roof receives referrals from Habitat for Humanity “on a weekly basis” — but because poverty can leave fewer visible signs. In addition to Habitat for Humanity, Roof4Roof relies on church groups, municipal agencies and other nonprofit groups to identify homes that need their help.

Other hits have come from an entirely different source. “I’ve also had people see our trucks and call, telling us about people in need of our services,” Anania said. “We (NJCR) have about eighteen trucks. Only a few have been repainted for Roof4Roof. My eventual goal is to have it be about half and half.”

SPREADING THE HELP

To meet his ultimate goal, Anania needs to get the word out. In October, he and his Roof4Roof team will travel to Calcutta, India.

“My big dream, if you want to call it that, is to be working in the fifty United States,” Anania said, “and in fifty of the poorest nations in the world.”

To that end, Anania is expanding both his for-profit business and Roof4Roof. Already licensed in Pennsylvania, New York state and Connecticut, in addition to New Jersey, Anani expects to be licensed in New York City by early July and in Philadelphia soon after. Portions of the profits from commercial projects in commercial projects will be linked to residential projects in India.

Proceeds from every project are used to help families in need…
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Proceeds From Every Project Are Used To Help Families In Need. Since 2010 we have helped over 700 families in need, an average of 100 families per year, with free emergency home repairs and other needed assistance. Your purchase guarantees lasting help in the U.S. and abroad.